Rise of the Warbands

Who gets it: Semnones, Sugambri, Frisii, Chauci, Cherusci, Gothones, Bastarnae, Langobardi, Marcomanni, Quadi and Hermunduri

The earliest known Germanic armies made effective use of formations and combined arms, but were nations in arms transferring communal cooperation onto the battlefield rather than professional militaries. Although effective in pitched battle, they could not campaign for long, which the permanent Roman legions exploited to their full advantage. Given their limited resources, the Germanic nations could not match those with standing armies of their own. Instead, their warlords began to surround themselves with smaller followings of professional fighters. The Germanic warband was born. Unlike other freemen, the men of the warbands were full-time soldiers and owed their upkeep to their liege. As a result, they were always available for campaign, and loyal to their warlord rather than their nation. Since warbands rarely exceeded a few hundred men, the increased reliance on such forces led to an overall reduction in the scale of Germanic warfare. Raids and skirmishes took preference over pitched battles. Moreover, the men of the warbands were essentially retainers competing for their lieges' favor. All combined to make the warbands more reliant on individual prowess rather than the cooperation that distinguished the freemen forces, who thenceforth only would be called upon as a last resort.

Warband units are now available for recruitment. Check the recruitment scroll to view the details.